UK Relaxed rules

[Luff84]

Ok,

We have been trading now for nearly 2 months now and have seen a huge interest in our services with 5 jobs already in the books. We have, however, had to turn down a couple of jobs that were the dreaded "open air assembly of more than 1000 people" in the last week alone and I'm sure it's a common problem that will continue for years to come but does anyone see a future where PfCO holders have relaxed rules?

 

[The Editor]

Ok,

We have been trading now for nearly 2 months now and have seen a huge interest in our services with 5 jobs already in the books. We have, however, had to turn down a couple of jobs that were the dreaded "open air assembly of more than 1000 people" in the last week alone and I'm sure it's a common problem that will continue for years to come but does anyone see a future where PfCO holders have relaxed rules?

Not really.
Although technology and redundancy continues to improve systems still fail and flying over gatherings of 1,000 people or more means that if a UAV comes down rather than it may hit someone it becomes almost certainly it will hit someone.

Even the guys over at Covent Garden with blanket 10m permission within London are not allowed over large gatherings.

I certainly can't see the CAA relaxing that particular rule anytime soon - if ever.

 

[bluelight.support]

zoom lenses from a distance are probably your only option! (if you are able to keep the required distances)

 

[Luff84]

Not really.
Although technology and redundancy continues to improve systems still fail and flying over gatherings of 1,000 people or more means that if a UAV comes down rather than it may hit someone it becomes almost certainly it will hit someone.

Even the guys over at Covent Garden with blanket 10m permission within London are not allowed over large gatherings.

I certainly can't see the CAA relaxing that particular rule anytime soon - if ever.

Ah, I think you made have misunderstood my comment. I was thinking more along the lines of the standoffs are a little too harsh for more than 1000 people and not that I actually want to fly over those people. Let's say that the PfCO holders were allowed 30/50 at open air assembly's, I see that being both safe and workable, 150m just seems a bit extreme for people that have done the exams and essentially know a lot more about safety than that of a hobbyist flyer.

 

[Raymondo]

At least you have 150m. We cannot film gatherings at all, not even 50 people at a local football game. Understandable. The crowd is watching the game, not your drone when it goes rogue. Unlike participants in a controlled film shoot.

 

[stuartpb]

Ah, I think you made have misunderstood my comment. I was thinking more along the lines of the standoffs are a little too harsh for more than 1000 people and not that I actually want to fly over those people. Let's say that the PfCO holders were allowed 30/50 at open air assembly's, I see that being both safe and workable, 150m just seems a bit extreme for people that have done the exams and essentially know a lot more about safety than that of a hobbyist flyer.

I think the 150 metres limit isn't overly unreasonable. A UAV can travel that distance at a fair pace, so in the event of loss of control or hardware failure things could get messy very quickly. The UAV's we operate aren't foolproof in terms of safety, either from user error, hardware failure or environmental factors. At a distance of 30m the potential for harm becomes much more pronounced. I've personally found the 150m limit restrictive in some of the work I do but I do appreciate why that limit is in place. It definitely gives a buffer zone in case the crap does hit the pan.